Chapter 28: Pills

　　“What are you doing? If something happens to the patient, no amount of money you give me will be enough!” The security guard said, looking troubled and speaking in a low voice.

　　“Don’t worry, Officer Lin. There’s nothing to be concerned about as long as I’m here,” Professor Li said with a reassuring pat on the guard’s shoulder.

　　The guard hesitated for a moment before finally taking the stack of money. “Handle this quickly,” he said, then left the room, closing the door behind him.

　　“I see now how you got in,” I said weakly, clutching my head and sitting on the floor. The pain was easing, and the blood-red haze was starting to lift.

　　Money really is powerful—who doesn’t like money?

　　I didn’t know what exactly Professor Li had given me, but my headache was gradually getting better.

　　Seeing my state, Professor Li smiled and crouched down beside me. “Miss Xia Ning, you were quite frightening just now. But don’t worry, the medication I gave you will start to help soon.”

　　“What kind of drug is this? Why do I feel so weak…” I said, my voice lacking strength. As soon as I finished speaking, my hand fell limply from my head.

　　“This is a type of psychotropic anesthetic I developed. It numbs your mind, causing you to lose control over your body and gradually dulls your thinking. Don’t worry, the effects will wear off in three hours.” He smiled again and adjusted his glasses, a habitual gesture of his.

　　Three hours? That’s too long. It made me anxious, especially given his earlier behavior at the sea cucumber restaurant.

　　Wait, why does he carry this kind of drug with him?

　　The question made me startle involuntarily.

　　“Why do you carry this kind of drug with you?” I asked coldly.

　　He just smiled and didn’t answer. Instead, he reached out to touch my face…

　　“Don’t touch me!” I shouted angrily, but my voice was weak.

　　He stopped and smiled, saying, “Miss Xia Ning, don’t worry. I will find a way to cure you. Trust me, I’m the only one who can heal you!” With that, he lifted his hand to gently stroke my face.

　　I had barely managed to say “don’t” before I had to lean against the bars, with no place to hide. His hand’s gentle caress made me feel extremely uncomfortable.

　　“Stop…” I said weakly.

　　At that moment, I suddenly noticed a small notebook inside the cage, open and filled with the number ‘1101’. It was something Zhu Zhongcheng had been writing.

　　I didn’t have time to ponder what it meant; I was too focused on my own survival.

　　Just then, the door creaked open, and I saw Wei Junliang walking in. He looked at us in shock at first, then, in a fit of anger, he grabbed Professor Li by the collar and yanked him backward. Professor Li cried out in surprise as he was thrown off balance.

　　Seeing him arrive, I breathed a sigh of relief.

　　“Professor Li, can you explain this?” Wei Junliang asked coldly.

　　Professor Li, who had fallen to the ground, slowly got up, dusted himself off with a smile, and said, “I was treating her.”

　　“Treating?”

　　“If you don’t believe me, you can ask her!” Professor Li said with a smile, looking at me.

　　Wei Junliang turned to look at me.

　　“Miss Xia Ning, you see, this medication is effective, as you’ve discovered. In three days, I’ll have a new medication for you that won’t leave you feeling so weak,” he said loudly with a smile.

　　After hearing this, I considered it carefully and finally nodded, acknowledging that he was indeed treating me.

　　Seeing my nod, Wei Junliang realized he couldn’t do much to Professor Li. He came over to me, crouched down, and asked, “How are you feeling now? Do you need me to take you home?”

　　Suddenly, I felt incredibly heavy-lidded. It took me a moment to snap out of it. I mustered the strength to say, “Let me… sleep in your car for a bit.”

　　With that, I fell into a deep sleep.

　　When I woke up, I found myself lying on the back seat of the car. I sat up, looked around, and saw that I was alone in the car.

　　I frowned instinctively, wondering if I had entered another hallucination.

　　Looking out the window, I saw the car was parked by the roadside. I also spotted a reassuring figure—Wei Junliang—who was now outside the car, crouched and smoking a cigarette.

　　Why did seeing him make me feel at ease? Because the moment I saw him, I knew I wasn’t in a hallucination.

　　I checked my phone and saw it was around 4:30 PM.

　　I opened the car door and stepped out. The heavy, drowsy feeling had completely vanished.

　　The noise of the door opening caught Wei Junliang’s attention. He tossed his cigarette butt and stood up.

　　The weather had finally cooled down a bit. A gentle breeze brushed against my face, and I felt a chill on my forehead. I wiped it and realized it was just sweat.

　　“Xia Ning, what were you doing with him? He was acting all kinds of suspicious. Don’t give me that treatment excuse. I’m not stupid,” he said, visibly upset.I smiled, looking at his angry expression. It was the first time I had seen someone, besides my parents, so angry on my behalf.

　　“Thank you.”

　　“But you don’t have to worry about it. He’s just treating me,” I said with a smile.

　　“Treating? Treating with face-touching?” he yelled angrily.

　　“I…”

　　I brushed the tousled hair behind my ear, unsure of what to say, and lowered my head.

　　“Xia Ning, I’m a police officer. Is there something you can’t tell the police?”

　　I remained silent. I truly, really didn’t want to reveal the truth.

　　Seeing my silence, he quickly removed his police uniform!

　　“Xia Ning, let me ask you one thing. Are we friends or not?” His voice suddenly became soft and plaintive.

　　I looked up at his furrowed brows and the discarded police uniform. I forced a smile and nodded, feeling tears welling up in my eyes.

　　“Then please tell me, what exactly happened?”

　　At that moment, seeing his actions touched me. After Wu Jing and Yu Meng, he was another person who had entered my heart.

　　But I… just couldn’t bring myself to speak.

　　“Wei Junliang, thank you. Although we haven’t met many times, I know you’re a good person. You’re also a responsible police officer.”

　　“But… please don’t ask about this matter anymore, okay?” A tear rolled down the corner of my eye and into my mouth, tasting slightly salty.

　　“Are you not afraid that you’ll become neither human nor ghost after this?” The words of the ghost house owner from the hallucination echoed in my mind.

　　Have I really turned into a monster? A complete lunatic?

　　“Xia Ning…” He slowly walked over to my side. I saw him raise his hand as if to wipe away my tears but then stop.

　　He hesitated, lowering his hand and stepping back. Maybe, he remembered this was our third meeting.

　　He turned, put his police uniform back on, and said, “I don’t know what happened between you and him, but you should remember, I’ll always stand by your side.”

　　I was truly grateful to him. Just when I was about to collapse, he pulled me through. I was terrified I might fall apart.

　　Watching his back, tears blurred my vision.

　　After a while, I wiped my tears and asked, “How did you end up there?” My voice trembled.

　　He turned to look at me and said, “I just happened to want to talk to that ghost house owner today. It seems he has another lab, but he wouldn’t say where.”

　　I was surprised and asked, “He… isn’t he crazy? And he has a lab??”

　　“He’s indeed a lunatic, a scientific madman. You should know from the news that he went crazy after the government destroyed his research,” he said, his expression serious.

　　“Now, he’s completely irrational and acts without considering the consequences. He’s the most dangerous kind of madman.”

　　“Stay away from Professor Li in the future. After you called me that day, I did some private investigating. I found out that he frequently visits Zhu Zhongcheng. I suspect there’s some kind of connection between them…” Wei Junliang said seriously.

　　I could only force a smile inside. I couldn’t think of anyone else who could cure me, but to reassure him, I nodded.

　　He rolled up his sleeves, checked his watch, and said, “It’s getting late. I’ll take you home.”

　　By the time I got home, it was already seven o’clock. Wei Junliang had driven me in his police car, and the drive had taken over two hours.

　　I got out of the car at the entrance of the neighborhood. He stayed in the car until I had entered the building before driving away.

　　When I got back, I explained that I had already had dinner and went to my room.